The Prodigal Boyfriend
by Lady Emily
Summary: He's back, but her arms aren't open. Or are they? [One shot. ED AU]


A/N: This is the first of several 70s Show E/D one-shots I've been planning. I don't know if you've noticed, but there seems to be very few Eric/Donna centric stories on here, which I thought was weird considering that the series was mostly Eric centric...  
Oh, and this takes place as kind of an AU version of Season 8, with Eric coming back from Africa and whatnot. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Summary: He was back, but her arms weren't open. At first.

---

Eric Forman grinned as he stepped through the sliding door into the Forman kitchen for the first time in months. As he'd known she would, his mother immediately crushed him into a hug.

"Oh, Eric! I am so glad to see you!"

Eric smiled and patted his mother's back. "Me too, Mom." He stepped back, but Kitty Foreman did not let go. "Uh, Mom? Mom!"

"What? Oh." Kitty released him and wiped her hands on her apron. "I'm just so glad you're back!"

Eric turned his attention to Red Foreman, who was sitting at the kitchen table. "Daddy!" he exclaimed with false excitement, just because he knew how Red would react.

Red didn't disappoint. "Welcome home, dumbass." he said with a roll of his eyes. "Now maybe you can get into the living room and tell all those idiot friends of yours who think they live here to go home! Because they certainly aren't listening to me."

Kitty looked stricken. "Red! It was supposed to be a surprise!" she hissed. Turning to Eric, she attempted to cover up the mistake with her signature laugh. "Ah hah hah hah hah!"

Eric was already opening the door to the living room, excited to be reunited with his friends, the people he _really_ missed when he was in Africa.

"SURPRISE!" Four voices shouted. The Forman living room was decorated with balloons and streamers, and, of course, his friends.

Eric was barely in the door before he was assaulted by another hug, from Fez this time. "Oh Eric! It has been so long!" Fez cried in that childish way of his.

Once again, Eric was caught in a hug from which there was no graceful escape. "Hey buddy?" he started. "I missed you too... Can you get your head out of my stomach?"

Jackie approached him next, giving him a peck on the cheek, which Leo copied, much to Eric's discomfort. Then Hyde was at his side, asking "Did you get the 'stuff''?" It was Hyde's way of "welcome back", and Eric pulled him into a hug whether he wanted one or not.

Once the greetings were done, Eric looked around. Fez. Hyde. Jackie. Leo... The room still felt empty. He had known Kelso wouldn't be here, of course, but he still thought Donna... "Donna?" he said, out loud.

Jackie, Hyde, and Fez fell silent. "Forman, man, we-"

Jackie interrupted Hyde mid-sentence. "Forgot! We forgot to invite her to the party!" She made a show of slapping her head like she couldn't believe she'd forgotten.

Eric shook his head at the obvious lie- he had wondered if Donna would want to see him, and he guessed he had his answer.

"No, man." Leo said to Jackie. "You didn't forget. I think she was just mad, you know?"

Everyone ignored him.

"C'mon, Foreman, cheer up! You've still got us." Hyde offered, slapping his back.

"And there is candy!" Fez added, holding up a half-eaten bowl of M&Ms.

Eric pasted on a smile. "Thanks, guys."

---

It was late afternoon before Eric got a chance to slip away from his friends. He slowly made his way next door, and stood on the Pinciotti doorstep for nearly five minutes before finding the courage to knock. Bob answered it. "Hey, Eric." he said. "Welcome back." he laughed, then gestured to the door. "I wondered if you were ever gonna knock!"

Eric forced a laugh, but choked on the end of it. "Is... Is Donna here?"

Bob's face turned as solemn as Bob's face could look. "She's upstairs. Eric, I probably shouldn't tell you this, but she's a little upset with you."

Eric fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Can I... go up?" he asked.

"Go ahead." Bob answered. In a lower voice, he added. "But don't say I didn't warn you!" then he laughed.

Eric ignored Bob's weirdness and walked up the stairs, slowly, slowly, until he was standing in front of Donna's bedroom door. He knocked softly.

"Yeah?"

God, just the sound of her voice made him want her. He forgot to answer her.

"What is it?" Donna opened her bedroom door and stuck out her head. Upon seeing Eric, she retreated back in and slammed the door shut. "Go away- I do _not_ want to see you."

Eric groaned internally. This was not going well at all. He didn't know what he had expected... Maybe for him to tell her he made a horrible mistake and for her to say she still loved him and for him to say he did too and he was sorry and for them to kiss and make up and, especially, kiss? "Donna..." his voice cracked and he tried again. "Can we just talk?"

"Who's stopping you?" Came the reply. Eric could tell she was leaning against the other side of the door so he put his forehead to it and tried to talk to her like she was right in front of him.

"I'm sorry." he said.

"For what?" Donna answered coldly. "You're perfectly within your rights to dump a girl you don't care about."

"Donna, you know I care about you."

"Well you've got a great way of showing it! First abandoning me, and then breaking up with me by mail! By mail, Eric! You couldn't even call me? Didn't even want to talk it over? Just decided, for the both of us, that we were over, through, ready to move on? Well I wasn't ready, Eric, you insensitive asshole!"

Eric cringed through her rant. "...Are... are you done?" he finally asked meekly.

"NO!" Donna yelled from the other side of the door. After a moment of thinking, she amended, "Yes."

"Well, you're right." Eric said. "I was stupid, and a jerk. Look, I never wanted to break up with you. You know that there has never, ever, been anyone for me but you. But Donna..." he trailed off.

"Yes?" Donna prompted, more softly.

"You don't know what it's like. We dated for years and all people ever said was 'What's that gorgeous girl doing with _him?_ He isn't good enough for her!' And when I went away, I was scared that you would finally realize that they were right... And I broke up with you because I knew I couldn't handle it if you broke up with me first. If you thought what we had was all a mistake... I thought, if I didn't have to hear you say that you didn't love me, or that you were in love with someone else, that... I don't know... I just..." Eric's voice shook and he couldn't finish.

Eric was jolted from his spot as the door opened a crack and Donna peered out. "Is that the truth?" she asked, but she knew it was. Eric just looked at her with mournful eyes, and she flung open the door and pulled him into her arms, just holding him for a second. "Eric... you dumbass!" she chided, pushing him away. "I thought were past that! I'm with you because I love you! I love you because you're funny, and sweet, and you're less of a pig than most guys I've met... but you're just... so... stupid!"

But Eric was smiling. "You love me?"

"I always have, you idiot!" Donna was shouting now, but Eric didn't mind. "I wanted to marry you, you jerk!" She quieted down. "I _want_ to marry you."

Hope that maybe he hadn't screwed up permanently welled up inside of him, but, because he was him, Eric pretended to cry with joy. "Are you... are you proposing to me?"

Donna hit him on the bicep. Hard. "No! ...Maybe." She shook her head. "Maybe later. I don't want to think about it now."

Eric cocked his head. "Well what_ do _you want to think about?"

"I missed you." she said, sidestepping the question. And before he knew it, her arms were around his neck and her lips were pressed to his in that way that often happened when they were alone together and it was happening just like he'd hoped it would.

"Donna." he gasped when they stopped for air. "I love you and I'm so sorry for hurting you. I'm so sorry." He leaned his forehead against hers. "...Is this a good place to tell you that I want you so bad right now?"

"Yeah..." Donna whispered breathily, her hot breath in his ear just turning him on harder. She pulled out of his arms and took him by the hands as if to lead him into her bedroom. At the last moment, though, she pulled away her hands and shut the door in his face.

"Donna!" Eric protested, jiggling the doorknob. Locked. He could hear her laughing inside her room. _Classic Donna._ "Come on, Donna! You can't just..."

"Oh, I just did." she taunted. "And maybe you should think about this next time you feel like dumping me." Clearly, she had no intention of opening the door.

"I'm not going to- wait, this is punishment?" Eric said incredulously. "Has anyone ever told you that you're a heartless tease?"

"Sorry, sugar." Donna answered through the door. "You're just going to have to learn to live with it."

Eric turned away, laughing quietly to himself. Donna was still Donna, she was still his, and they were going to be okay.

---

A/N: That 70s Show is a totally new category for me, and a totally new audience, so help an author out. Please let me know what you think! Thanks so much for reading! (Don't forget to review!)


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